Wrap Up: Old Taverna Sorrentina Cooking School | Sorrento, Italy

We’ve been wanting to do a cooking course in Italy but naturally we hadn’t put down our forks for long enough to find options.

I actually accidently stumbled across this hidden gem during my hunt for Italy’s best gelato. A hotel with a gelati shop down the bottom, The Old Taverna was the perfect place to sit out the heat with gelati, tiramisu, coffee and cannoli, while chatting with the family.

While we were there, we met mama, son and chef William, his wife and many other people who were either family or close friends. William told us about their Cooking School which he runs every week. He was so passionate about cooking, we could think of no better person to teach us the art of Italian cooking.

So we booked in immediately and anxiously waited for Monday to roll around.

We chose the 7 course Italian tasting menu which takes you through each recipe step by step. It was a great way to learn how to make everything from scratch and sample local cooking. They do have other shorter courses including ones that focus on pizza or gnocchi.

If you’d like the recipes, pop your request in the comments and I will get to work on doing a post for your favourite 🙂

The afternoon started with an introduction and brief history from chef William. So we didn’t miss a thing, we were given these adorable note pads to scribble down the recipes. I didn’t want to miss anything!

Bruschetta

First up William takes you through the steps to making the perfect bruschetta. We learn lots of fun facts along the way: Did you know bruschetta means toasted? And the word has nothing to do with bread?

The key though, is fresh ingredients and oodles of chilli olive oil.

The lesson makes you soooooo hungry, so luckily we got to eat these in class.

Traditional Egg Pasta

Who ever knew making egg pasta was so easy? William takes you through the process while you mix the dough, roll it, let it rest (critical!!). Next is the rolling and flattening which William takes care of. But he hands it back to you to toss with flour, roll, cut into tagliatelle & shake out ready for cooking!

I’m pretty much a pro now!

Bolognese Sauce

William taught us that Bolognese actually means “meat sauce” and that the colour should really be more on the brown side and not really like the red colour we are used to. Another fun fact? Did you know the recipe should NEVER have garlic! Italian cooking traditionally shouldn’t have garlic and onion in the same recipe. Say what? You and me both my friend.

Ravioli with Caprese Sauce

Using the same egg pasta we made before, we learned how to make ravioli including making the mix, spooning it out and cutting it.

The sauce he made us was a delicious creamy tomato sauce which is to die for.

Scaloppine Chicken

William showed us how to cut the chicken into thin slices then after coating them in flour and cooking, you top with fresh tomato, mozzarella and basil. You also learn how to make a white wine sauce which was soooo delicious.

Meatballs with Red Wine Sauce

Next we learnt how to make traditional Italian meatballs with a simple tomato and red wine sauce. I shouldn’t be telling you this but his secret is using bread soaked in milk in lieu of breadcrumbs. He even gave us a recipe for making our own vegan ones at home.

Tiramisu

My absolute favourite was learning how to make the Tiramisu. I never realised how easy it was. First we learnt how to make the cream/marscapone filling.

Then it was time to dip the sponges into coffee.

But don’t leave them in too long, or this will happen.

Next we got a lesson on how to pipe the cream.

Then we got to make and pipe our very own Tiramisu to have as dessert.

I was a natural of course.

The mister, not so much.

After you’re all done you sit out in the balmy evening and tuck into your home cooked meal with all the wine, limoncello and coffee you can drink! What bliss!

This was an absolute highlight of my trip and if you’re in the area, and want to learn how to make traditional Italian food, then look no further! It’s no surprise they are rated the top cooking school in Sorrento on Trip Advisor. Stay tuned for the recipes shortly.

Don’t forget to hashtag #travelwiththemacadames on your travel pictures – We love to see where you’re exploring!

4 Comments

OMG, heaven?? I love that all these things you learned how to cook were not crazy italian cooking of things i’ve never heard of. All are traditional dishes, so to learn such traditional food while IN Italy would be amazing. Wish I was at this class with you. Would have been an absolute ball. I’ve never made Bolognese…and will remember never to use garlic 😉 also Bruschetta means toasted?? Say what? I’ve never had scallopine too…I need to get cooking!!